R.I.P. Syd Field

Screenwriting guru Syd Field has died. Field, who authored several books about screenwriting and conducted workshops and seminars on the subject, passed away at his home in Beverly Hills on Sunday as a result of hemolytic anemia, according to a statement posted by the Raindance Film Festival. He was 77. Field’s first book on screenwriting, Screenplay, was published in 1979. It has since been published in 23 languages and is used in over 400 colleges and universities around the world. Field has been celebrated as the first writer to outline the paradigm that most screenplays follow, the three-act structure. His techniques influenced top Hollywood scribes including Judd Apatow, Tina Fey, Frank Darabont and others. Field was born in Hollywood in 1935 and attended the University of California at Berkeley. He began his career in the shipping department of Wolper Productions before going on to research and write for the original Biography television series, among other Wolper productions. During his career, Field chaired the Academic Liaison Committee at the WGA West, was a lecturer on the faculty at USC and AFI and has been a special script consultant to 20th Century Fox, Disney Studios, Universal and Tri-Star Pictures. He was inducted into the Final Draft Hall of Fame in 2006 and was the first inductee into the Screenwriting Hall of Fame of the American Screenwriting Association. He was also a special consultant to the Film Preservation Project for the Getty Center. In his final speaking engagement in September 2013, Field delivered the keynote address at Story Expo in Los Angeles. According to the BBC, he had been due to take part in a screenwriter’s summit organized by the Raindance festival last weekend in London, but was too ill to attend. Details of a memorial service will be announced soon.

38 Comments

Screenwriter • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

RIP – his books have provided amazing advice in helping to structure and write my scripts.

Student Of Syd • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Such a lovely man. I had the pleasure of attending his two day workshop in London a few years ago. What was great about it wasn’t just his script analysis, but how great a guy he genuinely was. We spent a long time talking during and after the class and it was an experience I will not forget. A couple of months after attending his class I had my first screenplay commissioned. A few years later I have a major motion picture in production from an original screenplay I wrote. Ironically, this script in particular abandons the 3-Act paradigm I was taught, however, Thank you Syd Field. Thank you for your kindness, your sharing of knowledge and your existence.
Rest in light.

Noel Case • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

I’m fascinated by your comment, so I had to reply. I have read several books on screenwriting, but only got around to reading Syd Field a matter of a month or two before he died. He does seem like a good person and certainly knew his stuff when it came to screenwriting. The reason I was intrigued by your comment is first (and most obviously) that you have a major motion picture in the works from your original screenplay, but more importantly that you went off the beaten path in terms of paradigms which effective instructors like Mr. Field swear by.

A couple years back, I read a well-written screenwriting book by a lady who strongly believed in her personal paradigm for screenwriting. She continually preached about how important it was for a screenwriter to follow her methods and not stray from them if they wanted to write a screenplay of merit. The further your screenplay strayed from her model, she maintained, the less effective it would be.

The problem is that many of the movies she held up as ideal examples of the effective use of her methods were entertaining, but ultimately just okay movies. One such example, which she quoted from throughout the book, was “Romancing the Stone.” Conversely, she would continually slam very good, and in many cases even great, movies that utterly failed when it came to fitting into her model. One example that comes immediately to mind, a movie she trash talked several times in her book, was “The Pianist.” I could probably find a dozen other even better movies she railed on if I went through the index of her book. So her convincing, unspoken lesson was that following her paradigm wasn’t the only way to write a great screenplay.

This is why your comment stuck me so powerfully. You actually took a course from a respected screenplay expert, yet ultimately went in another direction when it came to writing the screenplay that was good enough to get produced. I’ve written a screenplay that doesn’t adhere strongly to any paradigm (though it needs work before it will be good enough to produce) and I have a few in the works that may or may not adhere to a paradigm by the time they’re done, but will hopefully improve in terms of merit with each attempt. And hopefully one of them will be good enough to produce one day. I would love to talk more because I do find the process of producing a quality piece of storytelling very fascinating in itself.

Thanks for your comment, Noel

AHR • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

A true screenwriting legend… Many writers started their journey or at least furthered it with Screenplay by Syd.

Babz • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

To the Family of Syd Field: my sincere and heart felt condolences. He has touched probably hundreds of thousands of lives in every good way that matters, he was a light in a dark room. From Ed and Babz

Gary Rosen • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Hugely influential. A great guy. He will be sorely missed.

VB • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

R.I.P. Syd. He helped a lot of people. I still have my notes from his seminar from over 30 years ago. My condolences to his family.

CynicalCritic • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Another Hollywood legend passing from this world to the next.

R.I.P. Syd Field

Joe Monti • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Beginning , Middle and The END :(. R .I. P. Syd

jdog • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Thank you, Syd.

Tanya Besmehn • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Such a loss, yet such a legacy. Condolences to the Field family and screenwriters everywhere.

babz • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

agreed.

KS • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

So sad about Syd Field’s passing. Syd taught at the AFI Catalyst Workshop in 2009, where ten scientists (including me) gathered to learn how to tell our stories. He was one of the most elegant, tell-it-like-it-is teachers I’ve ever interacted with. Thank you Syd; I hope you find peace and rest.

Den Shewman • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

I worked with Syd and his folks during my tenure as a journalist, and later editor in chief, of CREATIVE SCREENWRITING MAGAZINE, and Syd was always a great man and teacher. On a personal note, SCREENPLAY was the first book on screenwriting that I ever read, and one I still review to this day.

Rest in peace, Syd, and thanks for all the great wisdom and stories.

Martin A. • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Condolences to his family and friends. Syd wrote the definitive book on motion picture storytelling — the one from which everyone else has built on. His contribution to our industry will be permanent.

Director • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Reading Syd’s book back in the 80’s was like having a magician take you backstage and show you all the hidden panels, trapdoors and mirrors that make the illusions work. Truly eye-opening and inspiring. Godspeed, Syd.

Ben H. Davis • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

I had a workshop with Syd at his home in Beverly Hills many years ago and we still kept in touch about life, screenwriting, movies, etc. He was a wonderful person and I will miss him.

fan • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Nicest guy.

Belz • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

All due respect to Syd Field, Aristotle was the first writer to outline the paradigm of the three-act structure.

As for Mr. Field’s contribution to the film industry – no doubt he was a talented teacher and helped generations of writers, but he in no small way contributed to the stultifying sameness of Hollywood films made over the last 30 years, not so much because writers followed his bromides but because studio execs took his book as their bible and trashed any script that did not have an inciting incident by p. x or a turnaround on p. y. Syd’s book empowered these pinheads with MBAs into thinking of themselves as creative geniuses.

Very true • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Agreed. Mr. Fields contributed something worthwhile to the craft of screenwriting, but what should have been a tool (not the only tool) in the box, became a cage in the hands of witless studios. The drive to oversimplify is powerful.

Anonymous • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Thank you. It’s about time someone pointed out the negative influence of these screenwriting gurus’ tips when misinterpreted as hard-and-fast rules by ignorant studio execs.

Excuse me, but the second act of a three act paradigm is a DARK HOLE! It was William Shakespeare who used a five act structure for ALL of his plays, and that would seem to make more sense to me. Aristotle needs to rethink it, oh, he’s gone isn’t he.

great movies , classic movies, timeless movies ,movies that change a single life ,or thousands ,or millions, START, with a screenplay—the producers, the actors, the sound costume set lighting, the directors, the studios, it all begins with a SCREENPLAY, Syd Field was the leader in helping those who would change lives to understand the mystery of a SCREENPLAY—
BRAVO MR. FIELD ,prayer that Gods palpable presence is upon all who feel and think of Syd.Thank you Mr Field for your contribution to a better earth and for helping me to better understand the mystery of a SCREENPLAY….ernie

stephen jackson • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Condolences to entire surviving family and close friends. What an accomplished person. It’s admirable.

Michael Part • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

I’m very sad to hear about Syd’s passing. I’ve had 3 movies made (so far) and I couldn’t have done it without Syd’s guidance. And I’ve passed this guidance on to my own children, who are just joining the film industry. Although we still have his books, it’s not the same as having him walk the Earth. He will be missed.

Joe • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

The irony is that in this obit, there’s no mention of Syd having written any memorable films. At least he knew how to break down stuff even if he couldn’t completely use it to his advantage.

HW • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

There’s no irony at all considering the article never claimed Field was a commercially-successful screenwriter. News flash, teaching is an entirely different skill than writing. I wouldn’t have wanted Syd Field to write the next Bourne installment but I probably wouldn’t want Tony Gilroy to try to teach me the basics of screenwriting structure either. There is room in this world and business for both kinds of people. A lot of accomplished and successful writers credit Field and his work for getting them where they are. There’s no reason to ding his work and accomplishments because he himself was not a commercially-successful screenwriter.

Fabryce • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Grand livre, nice instructor…à bientôt, in Paris!

IndustryDame • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Condolences to his beautiful wife, his family, and friends. Mr. Field was a lovely man, as I had the good fortune of meeting him earlier this year. He was one of my heroes in this business, and I was so happy to see that he was gracious, and cool as well. May he rest in peace, and continue inspiring great storytelling. Thanks for all your wonderful contributions, he’ll be remembered as one of the greats.

Scott123 • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

Condolences to the Field family. I suspect that family is larger than any of us knows. I shall endeavor to live up to your standard sir.

Continue…

Terre • on Nov 18, 2013 6:26 am

R.I.P. Syd Field – I didn’t know him, but I might as well have. With a typewriter I bought in 1984, a stack of paper, and a book on screenwriting by the great Syd Field, I have written many, many scripts and made two feature films. I own and have read all his books and videos and watched all his talks on you tube. Thank you Syd Field. Rest in peace.